A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates in general to a gaming device, and more particularly to a gaming device that enables a player to change or alter certain symbols displayed on the reels of the gaming device, which form random combinations of symbols that may yield an award.
Gaming device manufactures have long provided gaming machines employing a plurality of reels, wherein the reels each have a plurality of symbols. In the 1930""s, gaming device manufacturers provided a three reel gaming device, wherein each reel had ten stops, which produced a thousand combinations. One way for the manufacturers to increase the number of combinations was to increase the size of the reel and to add more stops. During the next four decades, the reels in the gaming devices increased to twenty stops. In the 1970""s, manufacturers developed a twenty-two stop reel machine, in the early 80""s a twenty-five stop reel machine, and in 1985, IGT, the assignee of the present invention, developed a thirty-two stop reel machine. This three-reel machine had 32,768 possible combinations.
Another way manufacturers increased the number of combinations was to add reels. In 1955, a manufacturer produced a four-reel slot machine, which increased the number of combinations on a twenty stop machine to 160,000. In the middle 1970""s, a manufacturer produced the first five-reel slot machine, which had twenty-two stop reels and produced combinations in excess of five million.
The next advancement in the effort to produce more payout combinations was the video or CRT screen slot machine, wherein the reels were simulated as opposed to mechanical. Video slot machines do not have mechanical drums or reels which rotate, do not need to precisely stop the same at certain positions and are therefore not limited by a maximum allowable drum radius. Each reel can have an unlimited number of stops. Initially, the Nevada gaming Commission limited the stops on the video machines (e.g., 84 stops on a three reel machine) but has since removed the limit. In 1989, a particular video reel machine employed reels having hundreds of stops and more than 10 million combinations.
The total number of combinations affects the percentage of time hat a player will obtain a particular winning combination as well as the overall payout percentage of the machine. For example, a three reel machine having twenty-two stops per reel, wherein the first reel has two oranges, the second reel has three oranges, and the third reel has seven oranges will yield an orange, orange and orange combination 42 times in every 10,648 plays (22xc3x9722xc3x9722) or 0.39% of the time. If the orange, orange, orange combination pays 20 coins, then the total coins paid is 20xc3x9742 or 840 coins in every 10,648 plays. Adding the total coins paid for each winning combination and dividing that number by 10,648 yields the machine""s total payout percentage.
It should be appreciated that in the known gaming systems, the percentage of obtaining a winning combination is predetermined. In certain known progressive gaming machines, the payout of a grand prize grows each time a player plays the machine. The increasing payout increases the total coins paid as determined above, which in turn increases the overall payout percentage. Nevertheless, the percentage of times that a player will receive one of the combinations remains constant.
To increase player enjoyment and excitement, it is desirable to provide players with new types of gaming devices that attract the player and keep the player entertained. One way to hold a player""s interest is to vest the player with the ability to affect the determination of the outcome. That is, to give the player a stake or xe2x80x9csay soxe2x80x9d in the manner in which the gaming device determines the player""s outcome. Certain known gaming devices have bonus rounds, wherein a player selects the player""s own fate. For example, European Patent Application No. EP 0 945 837 A2 filed on Mar. 18, 1999 and assigned on its face to WMS Gaming, Inc. discloses a gaming device having a bonus round, wherein a player chooses a masked symbol from a pattern of symbols, and the gaming device removes the mask and either awards the player with a bonus value or terminates the bonus round with a bonus terminator. The player chooses until selecting a bonus terminator. However, known gaming devices have yet to add similar player selectivity to the base game or reel operation of the gaming device.
The present invention overcomes the above shortcomings by enabling the player to choose or alter certain symbols displayed on the reels of the gaming device. The reels of a gaming machine, even in video form, each contain a set number of stops. Of those stops, the present invention designates or assigns certain stops to have changeable symbols. In a multiple reel gaming device, each reel may or may not have one or more changeable symbols.
The present invention enables the player to change or select the changeable symbol at any time as long as the reels are not in motion. The present invention contemplates letting a potential player who has yet to place money in the gaming device toggle through and peruse the various selections that the player can make. While playing the device, the player can select or change a changeable symbol at any time, and the gaming device maintains the change until the player (or another player) changes the symbol again.
The present invention preferably provides a touch screen video monitor in which the reels and associated stops are simulated. The touch screen enables the player to simply touch the symbol that the player wishes to change. Alternatively, the gaming device can provide a bare video monitor or television screen that merely displays the symbols. In this embodiment, the gaming device provides extra input devices such as push-buttons that enable the player to toggle though the selection of changeable symbols.
The gaming device contemplates the act of pressing a single changeable symbol or pushbutton having a plurality of effects. One effect that the act of pressing a symbol or button has is to change the selected symbol and nothing more. In this embodiment, each changeable symbol is individually selectable. In other embodiments, one or more changeable symbols are linked. For example, in one embodiment, changing a symbol changes all like symbols on the same reel. In another embodiment, changing a symbol changes all like symbols on the same payline. In a further embodiment, changing a symbol changes all like symbols displayed on the video monitor. In a still further embodiment, changing a symbol changes all like symbols on every one of the stops of the gaming device.
A stop having changeable symbols may have two or more possibilities. That is, a person may toggle through and select from two, three, four, or any number of possible symbols that the implementor wishes to provide. Different stops can have different symbols and a different number of symbols from which to choose. Preferably, the choices follow a theme that the gaming device employs. For example, one embodiment of the present invention contains symbols relating to oriental food dishes and drinks. The gaming device enables the player to toggle or change between a xe2x80x9cMSGxe2x80x9d symbol or a xe2x80x9cNO MSGxe2x80x9d symbol. The player can therefore select which symbol with which the player desires to play the game.
The present invention preferably provides an audio display or production that coincides with the change or selection of a new symbol. The production can prompt the player, e.g., xe2x80x9cWould you like xe2x80x9cMSGxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cNO MSG?xe2x80x9d. Alternatively, the production can acknowledge a player""s choice e.g., xe2x80x9cMSG, NO MSG, You have selected NO MSG.xe2x80x9d A separate video display or screen on the video monitor can enhance or increase enjoyment through a suitable demonstration that corresponds to a symbol change.
At least one and preferably a greater percentage of the winning combinations of symbols maintained by the gaming device contain at least one changeable or selectable symbol. In this way, changing the symbol has a direct affect upon whether the player succeeds and wins an award. The changeable symbols also enable the player to establish personal preferences on the symbols, which vest the player in the outcome of the gaming device and provide additional enjoyment and entertainment for the player.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a gaming device that enables a player to change one or more symbols on a random outcome generating reel of a gaming device.
Another object of the present invention is to enable the player to make selections that directly affect the outcome of playing the gaming device.
Yet another object of the present invention is to vest the player in the gaming device by enabling said player to establish personal preferences through the selection of changeable symbols.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, elements, components, steps and processes.